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Sorcery
Sorcery is the arcane art of communing with otherworldly dimensions to produce supernatural effects. Sorcery, or magic, is practiced by dragons and faeries (to whom such things come quite naturally) as well as wizards (who have to work hard at it). The ability theoretically existed within all of the Greater Races, but some species (Dwarves, Gnomes, Goblins, and Trolls among them) lacked sufficient enlightenment to fully master it. Practicing sorcery transformed the blood in a wizard's veins into measurable magic energy. The more effective a magic spell, the more blood was exhausted from a wizard's body. Particularly potent incantations required a wizard to recuperate for significant periods afterwards, falling into an unnaturally deep slumber. The most powerful spells expended every drop of blood in a wizard's body, causing his death. The life energy from additional living beings could serve as a catalyst to enhance the potency of a spell. The effects of a magic spell could outlive even the sorcerer who had cast the spell, if it was sufficiently powerful and done correctly. It was believed that the most dangerous and deadly sorcery was practiced during the Old Age by technomancers. Such dark magic produced some of the most powerful weapons known to exist, such as the World-Breaker. Very few magical artifacts have survived from that period. Sorcery gave off vibrations that could be detected. Giant slugs, goblins, and dragon beetles were among the creatures capable of sensing the presence of magical relics. Contrary to popular belief, sorcery did not require magic words to be effective, though some wizards chose to recite incantations to help them concentrate. Simple magic spells were easy to memorize, while more complex ones required the use of a spell book to properly recite and cast. The color of the glowing aura created by magic spells was dependant upon the strength of the spell being cast. Low-level spells were red or orange; stronger magicks created green or blue light. The strongest of all possible spells were deep blues or even, in rare cases, shades of violet. Some of the moth warriors from the Moth Dominion dabbled in black magic, which they called zazzizz, but Syxx said that the art tended to elude most moths, who typically died when practicing it. Likewise, Mariposa once said that the butterfly people had attempted to learn sorcery, but were unable to regulate their life force and several of them died before the practice was abandoned. Notable Examples It was generally accepted that a sorcerer had created the Swordedge Mountains, perhaps to serve as a sanctuary for dragons like Forever, as part of the peace treaty between Men and dragons. Syzygy, the apparatoid, was created though several hundred, or thousand, overlapping incantations. A powerful magic spell was used by the Elves of the Elvenwood to rid the world of the Giant war machine. It was a collective effort, requiring not just thousands of Elves chanting a levitation spell, but also the added life force of their erstwhile Dwarf combatants and also the bolstering effect of the butterfly people—their combined efforts thrusting the Giant into outer space. Deorwynn Fletcher became a powerful sorceress, bypassing the hard limitations of magical capability by enlisting mosquito people to pump additional blood into her veins. Behind the Scenes In the world of the Butterfly Princess stories, sorcery and science are generally considered to be one and the same thing—suggesting that the characters of the neo-medieval setting have an insufficient understanding of science to distinguish it from true sorcery. Mariposa suggests in The Quest for the World-Breaker that the word "scientist" has essentially the same meaning as "wizard" in the common tongue. Category:Sorcery